Statement from Bruce Power regarding Sierra Club letter

TIVERTON, ON – July 22, 2010 – A letter posted to the website of the Sierra Club regarding Bruce Power’s proposal to recycle steam generators as part of our Bruce A Restart project contains a number of inaccuracies which we would like to clear up.

Bruce Power has met the requirements of the Environmental Assessment and the steam generators were transported to the Western Waste Management Facility. Our plan to recycle these steam generators is consistent with the Environmental Assessment on the Restart project which states (on page 25 of the Screening Report) that “non-radioactive wastes will be reused or recycled to the degree possible.” The shell of the vessels is clean and can be melted down and recycled while any components inside the vessels that cannot be recycled due to low levels of radioactivity will be returned for long-term storage.

The Sierra Club letter makes reference to a presentation to the Joint Council of the Saugeen Ojibway Nations and suggests we made a commitment not to recycle any material which is radioactive. What we said, quite clearly (on page 4 of the report) was, “Bruce Power is committed to reducing, reusing and recycling wastes produced at the Bruce Power site to the extent possible.” This project is designed to meet that commitment by separating the recyclable material from the low level radioactive material. The remaining radioactive material will be stored at the Western Waste Management Facility.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act allows provisions to improve a project so long as the improvements themselves do not require an environmental assessment. The shipment of the steam generators to Sweden is not an activity that requires an EA to be conducted

Bruce Power continues to seek means to improve all aspects of its operations to make them as environmentally sustainable as possible. The transportation of used stream generators for recycling is one such improvement and one we feel has the support of the vast majority of the public.

About Bruce Power
Bruce Power is a partnership among Cameco Corporation, TransCanada Corporation, BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust, a trust established by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the Power Workers’ Union and The Society of Energy Professionals.